Checking in

Amherst Hotel, Brighton

So I'm sitting propped up in my sleigh bed, which is twice the size of Lapland, eating sausages and scrambled eggs, watching CD:uk on my plasma screen TV while the rain lashes against the window and the waves whip up on Brighton beach, and I'm thinking, why can't more B&Bs be like this?

To call the Amherst a B&B, though, slightly undersells it. Run by young staff, it's small (just eight rooms), informal and friendly but with the extra touches you'd expect from a hotel, such as morning papers delivered to your room, DVD players (and a large DVD library) and free wireless internet access. My room has a large sash window, the decor is neutral, the furniture and fittings contemporary. They've spent money on the right things: nice bed linen, good showers and hairdryers and generous supplies of Molton Brown toiletries. But the real stroke of genius is that they've done away with the dingy basement breakfast room which is the bane of so many seaside guesthouses. Instead, guests are invited to fill out a card and leave it in reception the night before and a breakfast tray will be sent up to their room at a time that suits them. Breakfast in bed. What could be more civilised?

Slightly the worse for wear, on our second night, we mistakenly stumble into the B&B next door to be greeted by nasty grey carpets, dingy walls and a lingering smell of bacon fat. We quickly turn on our heels and scurry back, gratefully, into the cool, clean embrace of the Amherst.